Grant Transit Authority to change routes

New system looks to provide more consistent scheduling

MOSES LAKE — Grant County's public transportation carrier will soon change the way it maneuvers around the area, with hopes that the changes will provide a more consistent schedule for its riders.

The Grant Transit Authority is still tweaking routes and schedules, but representatives have unveiled a series of figure eight routes that allow riders to catch busses from the same location every 30 to 45 minutes.

John Escure is transit manager with GTA, and presented the authority's plans, with its partner People for People, to members of Vision 2020 Tuesday. Escure said the changes will likely be implemented by Labor Day.

Two figure eight systems would operate throughout the Moses Lake area under the proposed changes, with one taking riders from a station at Big Bend Community College to a station near the Interstate 90 intersection with Pioneer Way. The other figure eight loop would run from Wheeler Road out to the Peninsula and Mae Valley areas.

The proposed two routes would be staffed by four buses during peak times under the change. GTA services currently serve a monthly ridership of about 10,000 on 15 busses throughout Grant County.

"We wanted to try and come up with some kind of system where we could run a figure eight both directions," Terry Fields of People for People told the members of Vision 2020 about the changes.

Under the new system, GTA also has plans to offer express services to the Warden production plants. Escure said GTA currently provides service to Warden, but the authority is ready to implement a plan that would support workers needs to and from the plant on a three-shift schedule.

Fields said they are also looking at providing service under the changes for workers to and from Wheeler Road industrial facilities during the three works shift times. Under the proposed changes, people from Ephrata and Soap Lake would transfer onto a different route at a Big Bend Community College transfer station.

Among the goals of the changes is the aim of easier access to government, business and health care facilities. Fields said the aim of the proposed changes is to increase ridership.

"Consistency is probably going to be the biggest thing," Fields said.

GTA representatives are going around to different agencies to discuss their proposed plan. They spoke to the members of Vision 2020 Tuesday and have plans to present to the Moses Lake City Council next week. Because of the change, Escure told Vision 2020 members that bus fares will come at no charge the first week of implementation of the plan next fall.

With the new routes, Escure said the group is trying to cater to the needs of students, workers, senior citizens and all others who use the bus as a means of transportation.

"We have all age groups riding the bus, and they all have their own concerns," he said.

GTA currently offers five scheduled routes throughout the county, but Escure said the downside to the current service is that the rider has to know the schedule or carry a current route schedule with them. He has hopes the new system will be more rider-friendly, adding that a more defined route schedule will provide less hassles for riders.

"This one route will hit the same spot each 30 to 45 minutes," he said.